Firearms, particularly high caliber rifles, are manufactured in various components, such as an upper receiver that includes a barrel nut and its corresponding barrel extension, a barrel (discharge end), a bolt carrier, a lower receiver, a butt stock, a trigger, and a handguard.
Handguards are popular components of many firearms, particularly AR 15 rifles and military M16s. Handguards extend over the firearm barrel and allow a firearm user to help align the barrel end of the firearm without touching a hot barrel after discharge. Further, handguards generally contain a plurality of external openings in which accessories, like scopes and level devices, can be attached.
Handguards generally butt up to and are aligned with the upper receiver. It is desirable to have the connection between a handguard and its corresponding upper receiver be as tight and permanent as possible. However, handguards do not always align end to end as desired and lock up with their corresponding upper receiver and there is resulting “play” between the two components. One option is to buy a one-piece upper receiver/handguard, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,234,808 to Lewis. But manufacturers and OEM manufacturers and some end users like to buy separate handguards and assemble the handguard to the upper receiver post-OEM or in the field. The current known locking systems are bulky in size, difficult to assemble, require laborious timing of the assembly to the upper receiver and can be difficult to remove for updating and maintenance of the rifle.